The Board found that the cause of death was due to esophageal carcinoma and Barrett's esophagus, which resulted from reflux disease. The veteran did not have these conditions during service or within one year after discharge. There is no evidence linking his exposure to Agent Orange to his condition.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing the presence of esophageal cancer or Barrett's esophagus in service or within a year of discharge, and there is no link between the veteran's exposure to herbicides and his condition.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal carcinoma, Barrett's esophagus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2003
- Citation
- 0302434
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,325 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0302434.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's prostate disability. The claims for esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus remain denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's increased rating claim for GERD with Barrett's esophagus should be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error and regulatory or statutory duties.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for hypertension, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, GERD, Barrett's esophagus, and arrhythmia are remanded due to pre-decisional errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for Barrett's esophagus and a compensable disability rating for gastroesophageal reflux disease has been dismissed as the appellant requested to withdraw his appeals.
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